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Chapter 31: The True Soul of DC
"You... you dare make a fool of me, Phantom Thief Kid! I will kill you!"
The Riddler trembled with rage.
He finally understood. From the very beginning, Phantom Thief Kid had designated two potential times. Whether interpreted by the Greek time zone or Gotham's, both were logically correct. This allowed him to arbitrarily shift the time based on his opponent's reaction.
When the Riddler assumed Kid would appear at Gotham's midnight and made preparations accordingly, Kid chose to appear at midnight in Greece. Conversely, the moment the Riddler realized he should calculate based on the Greek time zone, Kid shifted his operation to Gotham's midnight.
"Setting two standard answers for a single riddle? That is cheating!" The Riddler screamed into his communicator, furious. "Phantom Thief Kid, be arrogant while you can. Next time, I will show you the meaning of true terror!"
To his threat, Phantom Thief Kid responded with a simple reaction.
Beep—Beep—
The connection was cut.
Only harsh electronic static remained in the Riddler's ears.
Bang!
Consumed by burning rage, he subconsciously slammed his fist onto the metal console before him. Immediately, a searing pain shot through his hand.
"Ow—F*ck! My hand!"
While the Riddler raged in impotent fury, Phantom Thief Kid drove the truck to the entrance of Miller Harbor.
The truck's breakneck speed showed no sign of decreasing; if anything, it was accelerating.
"Sure enough, the Riddler modified this vehicle thoroughly. No matter how hard I stomp the brakes, it's useless. I'm afraid the only way to stop it safely is to run the fuel dry."
Kid glanced at the fuel gauge, which showed a disturbingly full tank, and felt a headache coming on.
"At this rate, who knows how many hours I'd have to drive to empty the tank."
With that in mind, Kid made a decision.
"There is no other way. It's a bit dangerous, but I have to try. I wanted to save some energy, but that seems impossible now."
"Luckily, the steering wheel still works. I'll pick that route."
Kid aimed for the pier with the longest straight-line distance within the harbor and steered the truck toward it. However, "longest" was relative; given the truck's current velocity, they would shoot off the pier and plunge into the ocean in less than ten seconds.
Ten seconds. That was all the time he had to save the hostage.
He had to leave the driver's cabin, get into the rear cargo hold, and extract the hostage within that window. Once the truck fell into the sea, the water pressure would make opening the cargo doors nearly impossible.
"Time is tight. It's best to drive the car as far away from the edge as possible and start the operation from there."
Kid had considered driving to a safer location, but the moment the Riddler activated the truck, he had also locked down the road in front of the harbor. The method of lockdown was brutal: causing traffic accidents on all connecting roads. The entire vicinity was gridlocked.
Driving in any other direction would only result in crashing into an accident scene. At a speed where the speedometer couldn't even register the velocity, the collision would undoubtedly cause mass casualties.
Honestly, just maneuvering a heavy truck at super-high speeds around a corner drained a significant amount of Kid's mental energy. It was only thanks to his exceptional dynamic vision, reflexes, and the superhuman dexterity of his fingers that he managed it. If an ordinary person were behind the wheel, a slight twitch of the steering wheel would have resulted in a fatal crash.
With my current skill level, winning a championship as a race car driver shouldn't be a problem...
Kid joked internally.
At that moment, he executed an inconceivable high-speed drift, aligning the truck for a straight dash away from the opposite end of the pier.
"Now!"
Kid's eyes flashed. He threw open the driver's door, scrambled onto the roof with maximum speed, sprinted to the rear, and swung his legs down to hang upside down. His hands worked rapidly to pick the lock of the cargo hold.
"Damn Riddler. What era is this, using traditional mechanical locks? Couldn't he have installed an electronic lock with a release button in the cab? A single press would have opened it, and I wouldn't be stuck here picking a lock."
Inside the cargo hold.
Janice, tied to a chair, was sinking deep into terror due to the encroaching darkness and the increasingly violent bumps.
"I feel like the car is going faster and faster. Where is the Riddler taking me? He said he would kill me in twenty minutes. How much time has passed? Five minutes? Ten? Or... is the twenty minutes almost up?"
"Just now, we seemed to take a huge turn. If I weren't strapped to this chair, I might have fallen over. Are there curves that sharp in Gotham City?"
Trapped in the pitch-black container, Janice had no idea she was about to be buried at sea.
Just as her thoughts began to spiral, a loud thud came from outside the box.
"W-What was that sound?"
Janice looked around in panic, but the empty container only amplified the echoes, making it impossible to pinpoint the source.
Clang—
Suddenly, the doors were thrown open.
Light flooded in.
Although it was night outside and not particularly bright, for Janice, who had been confined in total darkness for two days, the faint illumination was as blinding as the sun. She experienced a moment of temporary blindness.
It wasn't strange; eyes accustomed to darkness needed seconds to readjust.
In that instant of blindness, she felt someone undo her restraints. Before she could react, a pair of strong arms scooped her up.
It felt like a mere second, yet also like an eternity.
After an exceptionally loud splash, Janice's eyes finally adjusted to the light.
Then, she discovered with astonishment that she was in the sky!
Looking down, the entire layout of Miller Harbor was laid out before her eyes like a blueprint. Although she didn't understand exactly what had happened, she was certain of one thing: she was alive.
She could see a truck sinking into the sea below. It didn't take a genius to realize that was the place she had been trapped in until just moments ago.
"Be careful, Miss Janice. Moving around in the sky makes it very easy to fall."
A voice, elegant and pleasant, sounded by her ear.
She looked up. A monocle over the right eye, a tall white top hat, and a face that, while obscured, radiated an inexplicable handsomeness appeared before her.
"Ph-Phantom Thief Kid!" Janice cried out in surprise. "Why are you here? Am I dreaming?"
"This is certainly not a dream, Miss Janice. Just like before, I appeared here to steal a jewel," Kid replied with a faint smile.
"A jewel?"
Hearing this, Janice lowered her head with a complicated expression, looking at the necklace still around her neck.
"You mean this necklace, right? I'm sorry. My father got it from somewhere... he told me it wasn't the one you took from the Vanaver family. He lied to me, didn't he?"
"Regrettably, you guessed wrong. I never steal the same item twice. That necklace, to me, is now nothing more than an ordinary accessory." Kid shook his head lightly.
"Not for this? Then what jewel?" Janice asked, confused. Was there another gem hidden in that truck?
"The jewel I speak of is currently lying in my arms," Kid said, his tone laden with meaning.
"Lying in your arms? That would be... me?"
Janice understood instantly, a flush of surprise and delight coloring her cheeks. Phantom Thief Kid called me his jewel. Does he have feelings for...
The young girl's mind began to race with romantic fantasies. Come to think of it, Phantom Thief Kid's chest is really warm...
By now, Kid had flown Janice out of the Miller Harbor perimeter, heading toward the GCPD.
On the ground, several police cars were speeding toward the harbor, directly opposing Kid's flight path. Inside one of them sat Jim Gordon.
Not long ago, he received reports of several serious traffic accidents occurring simultaneously, all near the harbor. Such an abnormal situation practically screamed that something was wrong at Miller Harbor. Gordon had immediately gathered his men and rushed over.
But they had departed too late. The event was over before they arrived, and they ended up crossing paths with Kid, who was returning with the hostage.
"Hey, look up there! Isn't that Phantom Thief Kid?" a voice crackled over the radio.
Gordon hurriedly looked up at the sky.
Sure enough, he saw Kid's signature triangular hang glider. And the girl held in his arms.
"Kid is holding a young woman..." Gordon recalled Kid's reply to the Riddler's challenge. "Could it be that he has already successfully rescued the hostage?"
"Stop the car! Turn around!"
Realizing this, Gordon immediately ordered his driver. He then grabbed the radio to coordinate the other units.
"One car follow me to pursue Kid. The rest of you, get to the harbor and confirm the situation!"
"Yes, Commissioner!"
Gordon's cruiser broke away from the main convoy, whipping around to chase Kid.
Wee-woo-wee-woo—
"Hm?"
In the sky, Kid heard the sirens below and glanced down.
"I thought they'd all rush to the harbor. I didn't expect someone to turn around and follow."
"Miss Janice, I originally intended to deliver you to the GCPD—your father should be waiting for you there—but it seems I won't need to escort you all the way. Your pickup ride has arrived."
Kid bid Janice farewell. "Let's part ways on that building ahead."
"Ah? You're leaving already?" Janice asked, her expression full of regret.
"Do not worry. As long as I am alive, the performance will never end. We will surely meet again."
As he spoke, Kid landed on the rooftop of a building. He set Janice down gently and prepared to depart.
"Phantom Thief Kid!" Janice called out softly.
"Is there something else, Miss?"
Just as Kid turned his head, Janice leaned in on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you for saving me, Phantom Thief Kid. I will be your fan forever!"
"That is truly an honor. I will strive to put on even better performances."
Kid paused for a moment, stunned, before executing an elegant gentleman's bow. Then, he stood at the edge of the roof and leaped off.
Gordon's police car pulled up downstairs at that exact moment.
"Commissioner, look! Kid jumped! He didn't deploy his glider; he's going to fall to his death!" the driving officer exclaimed, pointing at the figure plummeting from the roof.
"Idiot! How could Phantom Thief Kid let himself fall to his death? Look behind us!" Gordon scolded, exasperated by the officer's dullness.
"Ah! There's another Phantom Thief Kid behind us! When did he fly over there?"
The officer finally noticed that in the sky behind them, another Kid was gliding away into the distance.
"The one who jumped was just a distraction to draw our attention. The real Kid has already escaped!"
"As expected of the Commissioner, seeing through Kid's tricks so easily," the officer praised in awe.
Gordon ignored the flattery and barked orders to the other car following them. "The escaping Kid is alone. He must have left the hostage on the roof. Go get her and take her back to the GCPD!"
The officers in the other car immediately disembarked to retrieve Janice. Gordon, meanwhile, continued his relentless pursuit of Phantom Thief Kid.
Gotham, a nondescript small warehouse one kilometer from Miller Harbor.
The Riddler stared at the new riddle he had just composed, a grotesque smile spreading across his face.
"Phantom Thief Kid, you cannot possibly beat me this time. I will make you die in agony!"
He stood up and surveyed the contents of the warehouse.
"The hostage has been rescued. The GCPD will be sweeping Miller Harbor. This place will be discovered sooner or later. It is time to move my base of operations," the Riddler thought, rubbing his chin.
"Is that so? You want to move your base? I know a great place. It would suit you perfectly."
Suddenly, a voice spoke from directly behind him.
"It's called Arkham Asylum."
In an instant, the hair on the Riddler's body stood on end.
"Who is it?!"
He spun around frantically.
Thwack!
A short black escrima stick slammed heavily into his face, flipping the Riddler entirely off his feet and onto the ground.
"Hitting people from behind really does have a distinct kind of joy, don't you agree, Nygma?"
Only then did the Riddler clearly see the intruder's face.
A young man wearing a blue domino mask and a black bodysuit with blue stripes across the chest and arms, holding two escrima sticks.
"Nightwing!"
The Riddler shouted the name in disbelief.
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